New blitz on drugs and violence at two troubled Leeds prisons

The Ministry of Justice is overhauling 10 of the country’s “most challenging” prisons, including HMP Leeds at Armley and HMP Wealstun at Wetherby, in a £10m pilot project.

More than half of the cash is to be used on extra security measures to try to stop drugs such as Spice from getting into the prisons, with more drug-detection dogs, body scanners and improved perimeter defences to stop drones from being used to ferry contraband inside.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said: “We have an increasingly detailed understanding of how new psychoactive substances have driven prisoners into aggressive frenzies, and self-harm, and trapped them in dangerous drug-debt.

“And we have better intelligence on how organised criminal gangs smuggle the substances in.

“But we should and can do far more to improve our basic security procedures.

“Better netting and window-grilles will prevent throw-overs and drones, new body scanners will detect drugs being smuggled in through the gate.

“So will more sniffer dogs.

“And we need to improve our searching of everyone who enters the prisons – accepting that, although the vast majority of families and prison officers are not engaged in the trade, we need to search and catch those who are.”

A total of £3m is to be spent on renovations and £1m is to be spent on leadership training programmes for governors.

Shadow Justice Secretary and East Leeds MP Richard Burgon said staff at HMP Leeds were “working very hard under great pressure and in very difficult circumstances”.

He said: “The Government needs to go much further and set out an emergency plan across the prisons estate with substantial new funding.”

A worrying picture of high violence levels and “easy” drug supplies at HMP Leeds had emerged from a report back in March, as it was branded “one of the most seriously overcrowded in the country”.

Inspectors found levels of violence of all kinds were far too high at the prison, where 91 per cent of cells were holding more inmates than they were designed for.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons also found that in a survey, 63 per cent of prisoners said it was easy to get illicit drugs in the establishment.

Last year, an independent board found that HMP Wealstun also had "a major problem" with illicit drugs, which were fuelling violence which had led to both inmates and prison guards being hospitalised.